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A review by katie_is_dreaming
To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn
Rating: 7/10
I am enjoying reading the Bridgerton series, but it is a case of highs and lows with it. This one was something of a low, but that was probably inevitable, considering I enjoyed Romancing Mister Bridgerton so much.
We return to the Bridgerton girls this time, with Eloise getting her happily ever after. Now that her best friend Penelope has married, Eloise is feeling her unmarried status more, so she decides it’s time she found a husband of her own. Eloise is different from Penelope, in that she could have had a husband before, but was holding out for her own love match. Though Sir Philip is not what she thought initially, a happy ending does ensue.
This is quite a sad story at times. Philip’s first wife, Marina, commits suicide at the beginning of the story, and the marriage itself was not a happy one. It’s strongly suggested that Marina was suffering from post-natal depression, on top of a more general depression, so this is another instance where Quinn is dealing with some quite difficult subject matter. The story isn’t really about Marina, though: it’s really about the effect her unhappiness, and his loneliness and isolation, had on Philip.
Philip is also the second son, who inherited the title after his brother’s death, and he’s dealing with that, as well as the fact that he could never please his temperamental father, on top of his own depression as a result of his difficult marriage. And he’s got two children he can’t really relate to, whom he’s afraid he’ll lose his temper around, as his father did with him.
I do think there were a lot of deep issues here that Quinn didn’t resolve fully satisfactorily. I think she sometimes does this: brings in a really big issue to make the story meatier, but then isn’t able to work it out fully in the confines of her story. Perhaps her stories just work better when the characters don’t have as much to deal with, or the issues aren’t so serious.
There were no major issues with trust in this story, and the problems are worked out well enough. It’s just not as good a story, for me, as books two and four. I’m certainly going to continue, though, especially since my pattern seems to be enjoying the even books in the series far more than the odd ones.
Blog: awonderfulbook.com | Instagram: katiemotenbooks | Twitter: katiemotenbooks
I am enjoying reading the Bridgerton series, but it is a case of highs and lows with it. This one was something of a low, but that was probably inevitable, considering I enjoyed Romancing Mister Bridgerton so much.
We return to the Bridgerton girls this time, with Eloise getting her happily ever after. Now that her best friend Penelope has married, Eloise is feeling her unmarried status more, so she decides it’s time she found a husband of her own. Eloise is different from Penelope, in that she could have had a husband before, but was holding out for her own love match. Though Sir Philip is not what she thought initially, a happy ending does ensue.
This is quite a sad story at times. Philip’s first wife, Marina, commits suicide at the beginning of the story, and the marriage itself was not a happy one. It’s strongly suggested that Marina was suffering from post-natal depression, on top of a more general depression, so this is another instance where Quinn is dealing with some quite difficult subject matter. The story isn’t really about Marina, though: it’s really about the effect her unhappiness, and his loneliness and isolation, had on Philip.
Philip is also the second son, who inherited the title after his brother’s death, and he’s dealing with that, as well as the fact that he could never please his temperamental father, on top of his own depression as a result of his difficult marriage. And he’s got two children he can’t really relate to, whom he’s afraid he’ll lose his temper around, as his father did with him.
I do think there were a lot of deep issues here that Quinn didn’t resolve fully satisfactorily. I think she sometimes does this: brings in a really big issue to make the story meatier, but then isn’t able to work it out fully in the confines of her story. Perhaps her stories just work better when the characters don’t have as much to deal with, or the issues aren’t so serious.
There were no major issues with trust in this story, and the problems are worked out well enough. It’s just not as good a story, for me, as books two and four. I’m certainly going to continue, though, especially since my pattern seems to be enjoying the even books in the series far more than the odd ones.
Blog: awonderfulbook.com | Instagram: katiemotenbooks | Twitter: katiemotenbooks